5 bedroom self catering places are few and far between at the best of times and it doesn't surprise me that you are finding it difficult to find somewhere for £100 per head for a 3 night stay in the Southeast in June. It might also make it easier if you make sure that the owners know that this isn't for a Stag or Hen do - owners up here in Edinburgh load the prices if they think it is. Partly to deter people from booking but also to ensure that any damage or extra cleaning can be covered.

Also, I think that basing your search around areas where property prices are cheaper might help you eliminate the really expensive areas. For example, anybody buying a property as a holiday cottage or as an investment based on holiday lets in the Cotswolds is probably going to have a very large mortgage and they'll want to charge prices that enable them to service that mortgage. Whereas the scenary in the Derbyshire Dales is just as lovely but rentals will probably be a lot cheaper.

It might be worth looking out for two adjoining places in a small complex - lots of farmstead conversations will be based on 2 and 3 bedroom units and this might be both easier to find and cheaper to book. I usually find the local tourist website the easiest way of finding good self-catering accommodation in the UK and you do have the reassurance that it is has been inspected re standards etc.

SM

Weymouth has some great seaside flats that would take all your guests but it's approx 3hrs from where you are. All along the front they have houses that contain a number of individual flats for hire all accessed by the same front door but has individual privacy when needed. Have a search and see if it's worth the extra hours drive.

Thanks for the replies..we had made it clear on the enquiry that it was for a family anniversary celebration, but still no luck :-( What you say makes sense SMa it just surprised me at how costly it was. Going to have a look at Weymouth, it's a bit further but could pay off. Thanks again

Just had a look on the English tourist board site and they seem to have quite a few larger properties within 60-70 miles of Stevenage that would probably be within your price range for a weekend break.

http://www.enjoyengland.com/

It's not the most user friendly site but it will enable you to search within a given distance from Stevenage and then if you order the search results by most expensive first the larger properties will tend to appear nearer the top of the list and there are a fair few from between £1,000 to £1,500 for a week which means that they should be within your budget for a long weekend.

Here's a sample few to wet your appetite

http://search.enjoyengland.com/details.aspx?contentid=684733&name=Church-Farm-Barns&industrytype=9&location=Stevenage%2c+Hertfordshire&latitude=51.9166679&longitude=-0.216667&radius=70&adults=1&issearchformaccommodation=True

http://search.enjoyengland.com/details.aspx?contentid=220879&name=Rose-Cottage&industrytype=9&location=Stevenage%2c+Hertfordshire&latitude=51.9166679&longitude=-0.216667&radius=70&adults=1&issearchformaccommodation=True

http://search.enjoyengland.com/details.aspx?contentid=220879&name=Rose-Cottage&industrytype=9&location=Stevenage%2c+Hertfordshire&latitude=51.9166679&longitude=-0.216667&radius=70&adults=1&issearchformaccommodation=True

http://search.enjoyengland.com/details.aspx?contentid=758954&name=Keepers-House-Leeds-Castle&industrytype=9&location=Stevenage%2c+Hertfordshire&latitude=51.9166679&longitude=-0.216667&radius=70&adults=1&issearchformaccommodation=True

SM

Thank you so much...love the Leeds Castle property!! Really appreciate the trouble you have gone to, that's given me a good few leads Pam

I liked the look of that one too! Our family regularly has big get-togethers but we need something much bigger then you - we took over a youth hostel for 3 nights over New Year for the last one (partly to celebrate my parents' 60th anniversary) because we now need enough beds for approx 70 when all 4 generations of the extended family are gathering!

SM

I have just done a search on Ruralretreats.co.uk for 3 nights beginning on 22nd June for 10 guests and it has 39 matches throughout the UK, some are less than your budget.

https://www.ruralretreats.co.uk/#search

Park Farm Barn in Norfolk is £756 for three nights.

We have stayed in 8 or 9 different Ruralretreat cottages and they have all been 5*.

Many thanks..looks interesting, just about to have a scout around. Pam

Don`t have a link, but Helpful Holidays have a larger house section for big family gatherings.